A coalition of more than 200 trade groups has asked US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to extend the pause on Section 301 fees for China-built and China-linked ships. The one-year pause, part of last November’s trade deal with China, ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Nov. 9.
Signers include the National Retail Federation, the Retail Industry Leaders Association, the Agriculture Transportation Coalition, the National Association of Manufacturers, the US Chamber of Commerce, the American Trucking Associations and the World Shipping Council.
Resumed fees would add “another cost layer to an already strained transportation system,” the letter says. For importers, a delay would “help avoid new transportation surcharges that increase landed costs.” The groups also argue the pause has shown that “vessel fees alone are not a strategy for rebuilding the US shipbuilding industry.”
USTR’s fee schedule, which stepped up in April, lists:
$80 per net ton for ships owned or operated by Chinese companies, up from $50
$23 per net ton or $153 per container for Chinese-built ships, up from $18 and $120
The lower rates took effect last October, a month before the pause. The Agriculture Transportation Coalition has estimated that reviving the fees would add $600 to $900 per container to US farm exports.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Mark Kelly urged Greer in June to restore the fees. Several unions, including the United Steelworkers, Machinists and IBEW, also opposed the pause when it was announced last November.
The trade groups asked Greer to extend the pause during President Xi’s state visit to Washington. The White House fact sheet does not mention the vessel fees.
